5 Freeway at 2 Freeway remains closed after tanker blaze

A view from the Glendale Boulevard bridge of traffic backed up on the southbound 5 Freeway on Monday morning is shown. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Drivers were urged to get an early start to their morning commutes Monday as a fire-damaged section of the interchange between the 5 and 2 freeways remained shut down following a weekend tunnel fire.

All northbound lanes of the 5 Freeway at the 2 Freeway were closed indefinitely, and only two southbound lanes were open early Monday, according to Caltrans. Lanes are expected to be open Tuesday.

All transition roads from the 2 Freeway to the 5 Freeway were closed, and the crash also jammed nearby surface streets such as Fletcher Drive, San Fernando Road, Glendale Boulevard and Riverside Drive.

Caltrans workers were working to shore up the freeway tunnel where a tanker truck carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline overturned Saturday and caught fire.

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"The intense heat from the tanker fire caused extensive damage to the pavement, walls, support columns, drainage, and lighting," Caltrans said in a message posted on its website.

Thousands of gallons of gas from the truck also poured "a burning river of fuel" through storm drains in the Elysian Valley area, said Brian Humphrey, a spokesman with the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Firefighters were deployed along a mile-long stretch of the Los Angeles River to monitor the spill. It was unclear what kind of environmental risk the spill might pose.